Full Blaze (Firehawks #3) by M.L. Buchman-Review and Blog Tour

FULL BLAZE (Firehawks #3) by M.L. Buchman-Review and Blog Tour

Full Blaze

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 2, 2014

When Australian helicopter pilot Jeannie Clark rescues wildfire photographer Cal Jackson from a raging burnover, she doesn’t know she’s bringing aboard a firebrand. Cal is quickly recruited for MHA’s covert operations that reach far beyond the flames. Together Jeannie and Cal are assigned to an overseas operation with a lot more at risk than burning trees. And they’ll need all the skill, love, and trust they can muster if they’re going to survive the heat of this jungle battle.

•••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: FULL BLAZE is the third installment in M.L.Buchman’s adult, contemporary, romantic action suspense Firehawks series focusing on an elite group of fire fighting experts-helicopter pilots, fighters, jumpers and more. Firehawks series is a spin-off from M.L. Buchman’s Night Stalker military/romance/suspense series. Several characters cross over throughout the series but each book can be read as a stand alone without too much difficulty. Any important information from previous storylines is imparted where necessary. This is Australian helicopter pilot Jeannie Clark and award winning wildfire photographer Cal Jackson’s story.

Told from third person point of view, the storyline follows the men and women fighting the Grandstone Canyon Fire above Santa Barbara, California. The hotshot crew of fire fighters have been in the middle of the action for close to a week when Cal Jackson found himself in need of rescue-separated from the fire fighters-who were doing their job. Enter helicopter pilot Jeannie Clark – personally put out when she is ordered to rescue what she believes is an interloper in the world of fire rescue. As the fires above Santa Barbara continue to burn, the fire between Jeannie and Cal will smolder with attraction and lust.

Like the previous storyline, there is more to the story than fighting fires. Our intrepid crew will be flown to a secret location where the US Navy is keeping tabs on a terrorist organization in East Timor. As the guerillas set fire to villages and towns, the Firehawks will be called in to determine who and what is at the heart of the destruction. Cal will become an integral part of the Firehawk team when he is able to visualize and see more than the naked eye.

The relationship between Cal and Jeannie is quick to develop as there is an immediate attraction to one another. Cal is more than just a wildfire photographer- he has experience fighting fires and will become a valuable asset to the team. His hides the emotional and physical scars from his past and in this the team commander will begin a thorough background check before Cal becomes a permanent member of the Team. The sex scenes are mostly implied with seductive and passionate imagery.

There is some unnecessary repetition as it concerns Jeannie’s background and family history. The family lost everything in a devastating fire and the author relays this information on numerous occasions but does not take it to the next level. The loss does not seem to affect Jeannie’s ability to focus and therefore I am curious as to the constant barrage of repetitive information. I would have liked more information about Cal’s past as his history is mired in abuse and neglect.

The secondary characters include some of the previous storyline couples including the Majors Mark and Emily Henderson from the original Night Stalker series, as well as former fire jumper Steve Mercer and Carly from book one in the Firehawks series- Pure Heat. Steve’s drones keep the Firehawks one step ahead of the fire.

M.L.Buchman’s storylines are infinitely detailed in technical terminology from military flight to fire fighting lingo. There is an enormous amount of professional, mechanical and technical information communicated to the reader as the storyline builds towards its’ fiery conclusion.

FULL BLAZE is another suspense filled and action packed story of the unsung heroes who fight the forest fires and risk their lives. M.L. Buchman’s fantastic imagery and exquisite detail brings the story to life-you can almost feel the burn as the flames wash over our storyline heroes. There are moments of intense fear, drama and thrills when the helicopters circle over and above the deadly flames hoping to strike a direct hit in their attempts to quell the fire. The Firehawks and Night Stalker series will captivate your imagination with their spirited and intelligent look at the men and women who risk their lives everyday.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

excerpt

 

 

 

Cal enjoyed the ride as they flew high over Santa Barbara, the Pacific Ocean stretching out to fill the horizon as they approached it. Jeannie had left him feeling immensely mellow. He’d never been with anyone who responded to him with such heat, nor offered it right back. And usually heat left him simply greedy for more. Jeannie doused the fires in him just as effectively as she did with her chopper, as if she’d somehow washed his insides clean as well.

Tell her, you idiot.

“You’re an incredible woman, Jeannie Clark of the dark-red hair.” He watched her as she checked something on her instrument panel, then adjusted their heading, ushc a tiny shift that he knew it was a delaying tactic. It was okay, he could wait. There were only the two of them and a breathtaking morning light aboard Jeannie’s Firehawk.

“Why?”

“Let’s see. Chronological or order of importance?”

“Give me a break, Hotshot.”

“Not a chance, Helitack. I could start by enumerating your womanly curves and just how much I enjoyed them last night.”

“And this morning.”

“Reverse chronological, then since we’re covering last night.”

She puttered and turned to glare at him.

“Watch your heading, Helitack,” he ordered her, though she hadn’t wiggled off her flight path in the slightest.

She continued to glare for a long moment before abruptly laughing and turning back forward.

Damn! Why were both of his cameras in the bag? That laugh had lit her up brighter than the morning sun. It was the first time he’d heard it up close rather than across half a camp, and it transformed her from merely incredible to downright magnificent. What in the hell was he doing presuming to even be aboard this woman’s chopper? He had no more qualifications to be here than… Cut it out, Cal. She invited you. That’s enough. Enough for now, anyway.

 


Guest Post=Black and Red

The Helitanker Girls of MHA
Full Blaze by M.L. Buchman

He’d fallen in with the helitanker girls of Mount Hood Aviation. Cal had heard about them and dismissed the stories as exaggerated because they were told by men about firefighting women. Women were a rare breed in wildfire, so the grunts either gunned for them, placed them on impossible pedestals, or, more typically, did both.

This particular female pilot had done a damn neat bit of flying to save his behind. And she said that her teammate was unbelievably better. So maybe the pedestal was deserved in this case.

HELITANKERS
First off, a helitanker is any helicopter used as a tanker for fighting wildfires. A Firehawk is a Sikorsky Black Hawk able to lift ten tons. It can siphon a thousand gallons of water out of any body of water: lake, swimming pool, or ocean in under forty-five seconds and then deliver it with pinpoint accuracy.

Firehawk Helitanker

And one of the great joys of the series has been discovering the women who fly these helicopters.

ORIGIN IN ANOTHER STORY
It all began back with then Captain Emily Beale in The Night is Mine (Night Stalkers #1). She was the first woman of The Night Stalkers and formed up an elite team of women. And fell in love with the best man who ever flew, Major Mark Henderson.

After leading the Night Stalkers women through:
• Kee Smith –I Own the Dawn
• Connie Davis –Wait Until Dark
• Lola LaRue –Take Over at Midnight

Emily and Mark retired from the Army to raise their daughter. (much to this writer’s shock! I thought Emily had many more Night Stalkers books to go, but she insisted otherwise.) Now she still flies, leading Mount Hood Aviation’s helicopter fleet against forest fires.

The real-life Night Stalkers of the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment are the best helicopter pilots on the planet. It was a joy to make Emily one of their best. To say that she sets a high standard would be an understatement.

Emily’s passion for her crew and protecting “her women” defines who she is.

THE MHA TEAM

In Pure Heat Emily must confront a third-generation firefighter.

Carly Thomas has trained herself to be one of the finest Fire Behavior Analysts in the business. After initial resistance, she is won over by Emily’s incredible skill and deeply ingrained calm. Carly herself shares many of those traits. She is steady, difficult to fluster.

and is driven to fight fire from a deep rooted need that goes back to the loss of her father.

In Full Blaze Jeannie Clark expands the team. Yes, fire is the enemy—such a deep-seated enemy that it drives her as hard as it does Carly.

But Jeannie is a very different woman from the two blonds of MHA. She is brunette and Australian. But where Emily and Carly function from a place of studied perfection, Jeannie is a “natural.” It gives her a…looser style.

She tried to mirror Emily’s every move. Jeannie could feel herself smooth out when Emily did, but she couldn’t do that rigid control for long. The woman was textbook and Jeannie was more seat of the pants. When Jeannie flew that rock steady, she actually lost the feel of the chopper. If she rode the air currents just a little, slalomed back and forth even the tiniest fraction, she became far more aware of what the Firehawk and the air around her were doing.

And not just in the way she flies.

“So, what’s right up there with saving your life? Don’t think I did anything else particularly noteworthy.”

Cal couldn’t help grinning. “I didn’t say it was important, just said I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

“Okay, Hotshot, I give up.”

“The way you walk, Magic Lady. Damn, but you have a walk of such power and beauty that you stun me past any ability to even photograph it.”

I admit to an immense amount of joy in writing and discovering the women of the Firehawks. Hope you enjoy them, and the men they deserve, as much as I do!

~~M.L. Buchman

About The Author Black and Red

Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

ML BuchmanM. L. Buchman has over 25 novels in print. His military romantic suspense books have been named Barnes & Noble and NPR “Top 5 of the year” and Booklist “Top 10 of the Year.” In addition to romance, he also writes thrillers, fantasy, and science fiction. 

In among his career as a corporate project manager he has: rebuilt and single-handed a fifty-foot sailboat, both flown and jumped out of airplanes, designed and built two houses, and bicycled solo around the world. 

He is now making his living full-time as a writer, living on the Oregon Coast with his beloved wife. He is constantly amazed at what you can do with a degree in Geophysics. You may keep up with his writing at www.mlbuchman.com.

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In His Stead ( A Father’s War) by Judith Sanders-A review, guest post and giveaway

IN HIS STEAD (A Father’s War) by Judith Sanders-a review, guest post and giveaway

In His Stead Banner

In His Stead
A Father’s War
by Judith Sanders

Release Date November 2012

In His Stead

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 12, 2012

AN ANCIENT LAW, A MODERN WAR, AND A FATHER’S LOVE THAT KNOWS NO BOUNDS…

Retired Army Ranger Thomas Lane once burned for the taste of gunpowder and the thrill of the battle. But as he struggles to cope with his own PTSD and the death of his eldest son, killed by an IED in Afghanistan, Lane learns that the price of war is far too dear.

When the National Guard calls up Lane’s youngest son to serve, Lane knows he will do anything to save his child—even if it means going in his place, a pursuit unheard of since the Civil War when slaves were sent to war in place of their masters.

In His Stead, Judith Sander’s second novel, follows Thomas Lane’s crusade against the United States Army, its JAG corps, a vengeful officer, the very son he is desperate to save, and his own wife, who has the Solomon-like choice of losing either a husband or a son.

Capturing the essence of family life in wartime—the good, the bad, and the hopeful—In His Stead explores what it means to be a father and a man.

REVIEW:

In His Stead is a contemporary storyline that reads like a psychological study in guilt, torment and fear.

The premise focuses on a little known civil war law that allowed a slave to take his master’s place on the battlefield. In this particular storyline, Thomas Lane had already lost one son to the war in Afghanistan and to prevent the death of his second son, he invokes his rights as an American citizen to fight in his son’s place- ‘in his stead’.

I am not sure as to the accuracy of this particular law and if it can still be used today. I am not American and at this point I will not go into the background of America at War but the emotional ride that is this story is one that can only be felt by any parent who fears for the loss of a child.

Thomas Lane’s guilt and fear is enhanced as he blames himself. Like many parents he was busy building a foundation and life for his family but in doing so, his priorities left the children vying for their father’s attention. When his second son Donnie got into trouble with the law, Thomas intervened and Donnie found himself serving in the National Guard to avoid a jail sentence. Donnie’s unit was called into action and deployed to Afghanistan and Thomas’s guilt knew no boundaries. He wasn’t about to lose another son to the war, so ‘in his stead’ Thomas took his son’s place.

The story also focuses on the family dynamics at home. The dutiful wife and mother; the eldest son and hero lost to a war; the screw up son who believes he is worthless; and a country at war, not of their making. It is also about a father’s guilt.

Some readers will struggle with the storyline premise including the political and sociological overtones of America at war and the number of young people dying to serve their country for personal and financial gain. Others will struggle with the plausibility of the storyline-sending a fifty something former soldier into war because his son is too frightened to go and in the end, said son, is all about the hero that is his father.

Overall, In His Stead, is a storyline that serves to relay a political message and one that the readers may or may not agree. I tried to remain neutral throughout the story but it was difficult – I am not American and my opinion about this war will remain my own.

In His Stead is an interesting and emotional storyline. Not emotional in the sense that I felt the character’s angst and pain, but emotional in that I still struggle with the concept and the reality of a war that is showing no signs of ending; where sons and daughter, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers are dying for a cause that no one can remember as to why!

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

Guest Post

The Sticky Process of Writing
By Judith Sanders

Follow Judith at : Goodreads / Website / Twitter /

Judith SandersWhen I think about my process for writing a novel it reminds of my best and worst dreams rolled together like a piece of twisted taffy.

Writing fiction gives me the chance to take what my brain would ordinarily label as weird, keep it to myself material and give it life. And to make that happen I have to untwist my ideas and reform them in a logical process. While that might sound boring, I find it fascinating.

I start with a rough outline to keep me on track and moving in my chosen direction. While that may sound silly I have a tendency to get so involved in a scene that I stray off course.

Then I write character profiles. These are very detailed and include not only a physical description of each character but his or her birthdays, allergies, foods likes and dislikes, their personal quirks (these set them apart from the other characters and make them easily recognizable by my readers), and of course each has a distinct voice.

After I have complete the profiles my characters are as real to me as my family, in fact they become part of my family, at least until I send them out into the world.

Next I write a very detailed outline constructing plot points that will keep my readers engaged. In each chapter I try to answer a question and develop a new query that moves the end story forward. I hope my writing is like a scavenger hunt where my readers can’t wait to turn the page and find more.

I write two or three drafts of the same novel and often develop different twists in each. And that happens because as much as I plan, it is not unusual for one of my characters to go rogue and do the unexpected. While that changes the direction of my writing it doesn’t mean that the new incident is unwanted. Several times a character has become more interesting than I planned and the story enriched.

Writing is fun, publishing is the sticky part of the business and believe me publishing is big business. I read an article that said there are at least four thousand new manuscripts circulating through literary agents everyday. The odds of being picked up by a publisher are as great, if not greater, than winning the lottery.

So why do I write? Because, I absolutely love the process. The freedom of exposing my strange brain to strangers from a distance is irresistible. And the feeling of accomplishment is indescribable. Try it and you too will become addicted to the independence and freedom the expression of writing can offer.

My latest In His Stead: A Father’s War (received Indie Excellence Finalist Award) are available in all formats. Please check out my website http://ironwordpress.com for more information on writing and to read excerpts of my novels.

Proceeds from sales of In His Stead help support http://HeartsApart.org , a charity for military families.

ORDER your copy of IN HIS STEAD at :

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository

giveaway

Judith is offering a copy of IN HIS STEAD to one lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

Prize: Paper copy (US) or ecopy (International)

1. If you have not registered, please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social logins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Giveaway guidelines: Paper copy (US) or ecopy (International)

4. Giveaway runs from October 11 to October 14, 2013

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Susan Squires-Your Magic Touch Guest Post and Giveaway

Susan Squires: Your Magic Touch Guest Post and Giveaway

Guest Post-Black and Rose

I’ve always written paranormal romance. People who are out of the ordinary, whether vampires or Saxon witches, brilliant hackers or an Artificial Intelligence, just seemed more interesting. And besides, don’t we all want to be extraordinary? I used to fantasize about getting a magic power. After going through several, I decided the super power I want is the ability to give someone five pounds just by touching them. This may have been triggered by several visits to the Academy Awards (guest, not award winner, needless to say.) In the ladies room, I saw beautiful women who were so thin each vertebrae stood out in their back. I really wanted to give them something I could definitely spare.

Do You Believe In MagicMy most recent series, The Children of Merlin, is about the Tremaine family, whose members have magic in their DNA. Merlin’s magic was dispersed and lost over time, and now it’s gathering again. When one of the Tremaine children meets another with the magic gene, the attraction results in true love and a unique magic power for each. I get to think up a superpower for everybody. Fun. Sounds fun for the characters too, right?

But if you’re extraordinary in some way, your problems can be bigger too, and that’s certainly true for the Tremaines. For one thing, they’re not the only ones with magic. Some magic came from Morgan Le Fay, and the members of Morgan’s Clan don’t like competition. They want the Tremaines dead.

He's A Magic ManBut for another, is it really so easy to be different? Each of the children must wrestle with the certainty that they’ll get magic, and that they’ll be so attracted to another person they really have no choice but to bond for life. In the first of the series, DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC? the bad-boy brother, Tristram, thinks he’s so different from the rest of his family that the magic has passed him by. He’s in for a shock. In HE’S A MAGIC MAN, the oldest sister, Drew, is sure of her destiny. But the man who raises her magic power is an alcoholic who’s still in love with his dead wife. Oooh. That hurts.

Each Tremaine will wrestle with having a destiny, loving almost against their will, and getting a magic power they don’t understand and may not be able to control. The love and support of the family may sometimes be the only thing that gets them through.

Your Magic TouchI’m having a good time with the Tremaines. I get to see the younger kids grow up. I get to see what it takes to reach your happy ending, what you sacrifice, what you learn. Recently I got a challenge from several readers. They wanted to know how the Tremaine saga began. How did the Tremaine parents, Brian and Brina, meet and marry? So, this month I released a novella, YOUR MAGIC TOUCH, which answers that question. Think of it as “How I Met Your Mother,” Tremaine style, a little spring break surprise. I counted back to when they must have met. Shock—it was the eighties. Leg warmers, the Police, big hair. Okay, I couldn’t give Brina big hair. Just couldn’t.

Now, I’d like to hear from you. What super power would you have if you could?

And tell me, if you lived through the eighties, what would you prefer to leave behind forever?

About the Author black and rose

Susan Squires

Follow Susan: Website / Facebook / Goodreads

Susan Squires grew up among the giant redwoods of California. She thought she was being practical by changing her major in college from theater to English literature. Immersed in a PhD. Program, she slowly realized that none of her graduating friends had work. So she dropped out after receiving a Master’s degree to take an paying job in the business world.

As an executive in a Fortune 500 company, she returned to her love of writing while continuing to hold her day-job, much to the amusement of her fellow executives. Her novel Danegeld, had already been purchased by Dorchester by the time she accepted a Golden Heart for Best Unpublished Paranormal Manuscript from Romance Writers of America. It was the first of an eclectic group of historical and contemporary paranormal stories known for their intensity. Body Electric was named by Publishers Weekly one of the ten most influential paperbacks of 2002, for blending romance and science-fiction. Book List compared No More Lies to the works of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton, but it was also a Rita finalist for Best Published Paranormal Romance by Romance Writers of America.

Susan’s Companion Series for St. Martin’s Press, continued to garner attention with admiring reviews and several visits to the New York Times Bestseller List. Publishers Weekly named One with the Shadows a Best Book of the Year, and several of the series received starred reviews. Her books have won the many regional contests for published works of paranormal romantic fiction.

Susan no longer has to use tales of romance and adventure to escape budgets and projects. She finally left her day job, and researches and writes her books at the beach in Southern California, supported by three Belgian Sheepdogs and a wonderful husband named Harry who writes occult mysteries as H.R. Knight.

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Your Magic Touch
Children of Merlin 2.5
by Susan Squires
Release: April 2013

Your Magic Touch

Available for .99¢ from: Amazon / Barnes and Noble /

YOUR MAGIC TOUCH (Release Date March 21, 2013)

Click HERE for our review of YOUR MAGIC TOUCH

Your Magic Touch is a tale of “How I Met Your Mother,” Tremaine-style. The younger Tremaines are growing up and they want details about how their parents met and found their magic, details Brina and Brian Tremaine are reluctant to share. How much can they reveal to their children about the instant and potent sexual attraction of the magic in their genes, the powerful emotions of finding powers they don’t understand? And neither wants to admit what Brian did for a living before he found his destined mate, or exactly who introduced them. This novella shares both Brina’s version and Brian’s version of events, but even as each parent tries to conceal pertinent details from their children, the reader will know all.

Giveaway -black and white

Susan is offering a copy of HE’S A MAGIC MAN (the first book in the Children of Merlin series) to one lucky reader. US/Canada winner’s choice paper or ecopy: International ecopy only.

1. Please register using the log-in at the top of the page or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in such as Twitter or Google, please post your email address with your comment as Twitter etc does not allow for email contact.

3. Giveaway is open internationally.  US/Canada paper or ecopy:  International ecopy

4. Giveaway runs from April 13 to April 16, 2013

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Carolyn Crane-Guest Post with the Author

Carolyn Crane – Guest Post with the Author

A confession about my characters’ homes!

So, I am terrible at keeping a nice house, or even decorating. I have this friend who is an interior designer, and I love going over there. Her place is so nice. And, crazy as it seems, in my day job, I sometimes get assignments to write about interior design, as though I’m some sort of authority on it, and I’m SO not!! Sometimes I secretly think, if you could see my place, you would never pay me to write this article.

So it was funny when I realized the other day that I live vicariously through my characters, giving them the places I want to live in so badly. Some authors live through their characters for adventure – they bravely go where the writer only dreams of going, fighting monsters and demons. Other authors live through their characters with romance, being swept off their feet by a fantasy hero or heroine, and having fun imagining that.

I give my characters the homes I long for. I looked at all my books, and all my people have homes I want to live in! I’m really careful about giving my characters their own personalities, and their own clothes and lives, and not making them my surrogates. So, I was sort of surprised when I realized give them my dream décor. It’s kind of funny.

In the Disillusionists, Otto has the coolest home that I want to live in. The description:

Bright, blocky, comfortable-looking furniture and rugs provide splashes of color, but the amazing thing is the woodwork. Nearly every wooden surface—walls, pillars, doors—is carved with elaborate patterns and scenes of leaves, creatures, even faces.

…and later

Shelby strolls across the bright oriental rugs to the far wall, touches a large oil painting Otto recently acquired. Otto tends toward magical realism in his art tastes. Forests and winged beasts.

Packard gets the cool home in Double Cross. I’ve always wanted a spacious place like this:

…the brightest, airiest living space you could ever imagine—a fishbowl, really, with more windows than walls, more skylight than ceiling, and more porch footage than interior footage.
In Mr. Real, my heroine’s décor is how I sort of want mine to be. I am so living vicariously through her.

Little by little, she was collecting old pictures and furniture, refinishing stuff in the basement. The mission-style couch and chair were just right—classic, comfy, and sturdy. She’d also found a fabulous marble coffee table, some brightly painted bird statuettes, and lots of tropical-looking plants.

I have another pen name, Annika, who writes about Bank Robbers. Their décor is the coolest:

My bandits’ hideout was a mod glass and stone home nestled into a hill … the interior was full of colorful furniture and modern art and books, and white paper lanterns and a fireplace where the fire was in a strip behind blue glass. It was more whimsical than I’d imagined. It was gorgeous.

Do you see a theme? Bright, colorful furniture, plenty of art, sort of mod stuff. Maybe I need to pay more attention to my own home, and then my characters can get their own personal styles!

I think, in every book, some bit of the author’s own dreams seeps in, and this is one place for me. I was surprised when I noticed.

Question: If you wrote a story (or, for you writers, in the stories you write) is there some little dream of yours that may slip in? The clothes you wish you had, the car, the jet-setting lifestyle, the cool home, the awesome abilities? Let me know! I’ll pick one commenter to win an ebook of Mr. Real!

BIO:  

Carolyn Crane is the author of the Disillusionists trilogy, assorted novellas, and the upcoming Mr. Real. She lives in Minneapolis (U.S.) with her husband and two cats. 

Follow Carolyn Crane at : Website / Twitter / Facebook

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MR. REAL  by Carolyn Crane

Synopsis:  

The woman of his dreams…with the secret agent of his nightmares 

Alix Gordon is a woman who doesn’t take life too seriously. What’s the fun in that? So when she stumbles across occult software that can bring any computer image to life, she conjures up lots of awesome outfits and accessories. And then, on one drunken, horny night, she conjures up Sir Kendall, the sexy TV ad spy . . . who looks exactly like Paul Reinhardt, the hot martial arts teacher who kicked her out of class a few years ago. 

Fighter Paul Reinhardt has good reason to hate Sir Kendall, the character he brought to life to land a part in a TV ad; he’d do anything to forget him. A cross country road trip seems just the thing . . . until Paul finds himself inexplicably drawn to Minnesota and is shocked to discover Sir Kendall – in the flesh – with the girl he’d once loved from afar. He barges into Alix and Sir Kendall’s love nest, determined to stop the madness – somehow. 

But is super spy Sir Kendall transforming into something more dangerous anyone can imagine? And what will Sir Kendall do when Paul and Alix finally give into their mad lust for each other? 

Available October 30th.Read more  HERE

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Nina Bangs-Wicked Whispers Tour

Nina Bangs-Wicked Whispers Tour

My one regret in life? I wish I’d started writing sooner.

Talk about misspent youth. What did I do during those lazy summer days of childhood when I could’ve been honing my writing skills? Nothing. Okay, so I spent a lot of time dreaming I was a cowgirl with a trusty black stallion. Oh, and I read every Walter Farley horse novel. I was an only child so I relied on my imagination to supply the excitement in my life.

By high school, I’d decided to trade in my lariat for a trench coat. I was into dark and dangerous. As an intrepid foreign correspondent, I’d stalk the mean streets of the world. Did I actually write anything? No, but I did read all of Agatha Christie’s mysteries.

I worked at a department store during college. My short stint in the accounting department taught me a lot about math. Three hundred-dollar shortages plus hysterical tears equaled instant move to gift-wrap. A career in math was not in my future. I didn’t care because I’d discovered “real” literature. I plowed through James Joyce’s Ulysses and Tolstoy’s War and Peace. If it didn’t make my eyes cross then it wasn’t worth reading. Yes, I admit it, I was a literary snob.

But there’s just so much “real” literature one person can take. I graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in English Literature and a determination to avoid books that induced eye crossing or had tragic endings. The only things I managed to write during those years were research papers.

I taught second grade for several years then spent two years in Dublin, Ireland. A friend and I supported ourselves by singing folk songs in Irish pubs. We weren’t great, but we were young, enthusiastic, and wore short skirts. It was obviously my destiny to be the next Judy Collins. I spent a lot of time poring through music books.

Returning to New Jersey and reality, I taught elementary school until I grew restless again. My cross-country odyssey included stays in Arizona, California, and Texas. Along the way, I indulged my love of horses. No black stallions, but I did have several beautiful Arabian mares. I read tons of books on breeding and showing.

Somewhere between California and Texas I grew addicted to romance novels and cats. The cat’s independent attitude was exactly the quality I admired in my romance heroes. And once I decided to try writing my own romances, I made sure a cat crept into each story.

Texas is my permanent home. I’ve come full circle. Born in San Antonio, I spent most of my life in New Jersey. Maybe the Texas in my blood accounts for my attachment to strong men, fast horses, and wide-open spaces. My love of cats? Haven’t a clue.

Connect with Nina: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

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Nina Bangs Wicked Whispers Blog Tour

Castle of Dark Dreams Series

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WICKED NIGHTS

“Castle of Dark Dreams” trilogy, Book 1

April 2005 Berkley

Buy at: Amazon/ Barnes and Noble

Welcome to the Castle of Dark Dreams. It’s the yummiest attraction in Live the Fantasy, an adult theme park where women who dare can take sexy role-playing to new erotic heights. Just by looking at the castle you know that only dangerously tempting men would play here. Three brothers—Eric, Brynn, and Conall McNair—run the castle. Okay, so they’re not quite human, but that’s a secret. This night Eric, the castle’s resident vampire, will prove that he’s everything bad should be.

Talk-show host Donna Nolan is on the trail of the weird and wacky in the Castle of Dark Dreams. But thoughts of a juicy interview to enthrall her listeners disappear when she meets Eric. With the coldest blue eyes and the hottest mouth she’s ever seen, he’s a primitive call to the wild in every woman.

Love between a talk-show host and a vampire shouldn’t be possible, but then, strange things happen in the Castle of Dark Dreams.

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WICKED PLEASURE

“Castle of Dark Dreams” trilogy, Book 2

February 2007 Berkley

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A MAN WHO CAN’T SAY NO

Brynn McNair has spent the last five hundred years of his existence offering his body to any woman who desires him. The evil entity that created him has made sure that if he tries to resist the compulsion to play love slave, he suffers. So it’s no wonder that he thinks of women as his enemy. Until he meets Kimberly Vaughn.

A WOMAN WHO WON’T SAY YES

Kim Vaughn is a demon hunter. It’s a family business and her destiny. But Kim is all about avoiding her destiny. She wants to marry an ordinary guy, have ordinary kids, live in an ordinary house, and work as an architect. No way does she want anything to do with a man who has paranormal connections. Until she meets Brynn McNair.

Kim comes to the Castle of Dark Dreams, the main attraction in a sexy theme park, to plan a few upgrades. She stays to join forces with Brynn and save Galveston from a supernatural takeover. Can a woman who wants to marry Mr. Ordinary and a man who thinks of love as sleeping with the enemy find happiness together? You’d be surprised.

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WICKED FANTASY

“Castle of Dark Dreams” trilogy, Book 3

May 2007 Berkley

Buy at : Amazon/ Barnes and Noble/ The Book /Depository

Welcome to the Castle of Dark Dreams, the yummiest attraction in an adult theme park where only dangerously tempting men play.Wicked Fantasy is the final book in a series that stars three extraordinary brothers—each promising ultimate fulfillment for any woman bold enough to accept his sensual challenge.

Conall O’Rourke learned the hard way that goddesses kick butt when you tick them off. After killing an Irish deity’s favorite in battle, he’s cursed to protect his enemy’s descendants down to the last arrogant jerk. Now there’s only one left, and Conall can almost taste freedom after endless centuries. But who knew the remaining descendant would be so beautiful, so sexy, and such a . . .

Vampire? Gerry Kavanagh hunts nonhuman entities that break Texas laws. But she finds more than the sneaky shape-shifting snake she’s after at the Castle of Dark Dreams. The most hated member of the O’Rourkes expects to follow her around so he can “protect” her. Protect? She’s a fanged creature of the night, for crying out loud. Nope. Never going to happen. Too bad he’s a major wow on her personal sizzle meter.

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MY WICKED VAMPIRE

The Castle of Dark Dreams series, Book 4

Buy at : The Book Depository

The Castle of Dark Dreams is just part of an adult theme park, right? The most decadent attraction in a place where people go to play out their wildest erotic fantasies. Holgarth isn’t really a wacky wizard, and Sparkle Stardust doesn’t actually create cosmic chaos by hooking up completely mismatched couples. And that naked guy chained up in the dungeon? No way he’s a vampire.

Wrong…dead wrong, as botanist Cinn Airmid is about to find out. It’s up to her to save the night feeder’s sanity, but to do that she’ll have to get close to the most dangerously sexy male she’s ever encountered. And one look in Dacian’s haunted black eyes tells her close will take on a whole new meaning with someone who’s had 600 years to practice his technique. Even a girl with a name that conjures up images of forbidden pleasure has a few tricks to learn from…

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WICKED EDGE

The Castle of Dark Dreams series, Book 5

March 2012 Berkley

Buy at : Amazon/ Barnes and Noble/ The Book Depository

USA Today bestselling author Nina Bangs once again tempts readers to enter the wickedly sensual Castle of Dark Dreams—a playground where private pleasures and devilish fantasies come true, where the men who breathe life into women’s ultimate desires burn with their own supernatural fire…

As an angel, Passion prides herself on perfection. But some mischievous part of her always goes against the godly grain. After one too many attempts to enliven the heavenly halls, she’s sent to earth to tame her naughty nature. While human, she has to bring goodness and light to the most sinful of places, the Castle of Dark Dreams. Once there, she finds herself in the role of a virgin used as bait to trap a marauding demon. Passion thinks the game is harmless—until she sees the man playing the demon. His name is Edge, and Passion senses darkness in him beyond any she’s ever dreamed.

Edge may play a demon, but he is something much worse. His past is littered with pain and destruction—and that’s the way he likes it. Now he must prove to himself and others that he is what he’s always been—cold and emotionless. But as danger threatens and his need for Passion heats up, he finds himself balanced on love’s Wicked Edge.

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WICKED WHISPERS

The Castle of Dark Dreams series, Book 6

October 2012 Berkley

Buy at : Amazon / Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository

USA Today bestselling author Nina Bangs welcomes you back to the Castle of Dark Dreams, a place of otherworldly secrets and sensual men with the power to fulfill your most private fantasies…

All Ivy had ever wanted was a safe, secure life with no drama. Now she was working in an adult theme park where visitors came to role-play their wildest imaginings. She reminded herself to stay focused on her job and to ignore everything else. The reminders didn’t work. One man drew her. Murmur was every erotic dream she’d tried to repress, every deliciously dangerous temptation she said she didn’t need. Her instinct suggested that this was a man who walked in darkness. She ignored the warning.

But Murmur was more than what he seemed. A powerful demon, he used his evil gift to destroy as well as seduce. In desiring him, Ivy had opened herself to a menace born centuries ago—one that would risk both their lives and betray the promises made with every one of his…

WICKED WHISPERS Blog Tour Stops

10/01/12 – Books n Kisses
10/02/12 – The Reading Cafe
10/03/12 – United by Books
10/04/12 – Riverina Romantics
10/05/12 – Grave Tells
10/08/12 – Book Monster Reviews
10/08/12 – Literal Addiction

Nina is giving away an autographed book from The Castle of Dark Dreams series (winners choice of book) and a $20.00 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble to one winner per stop.

1. To qualify for our giveaway, you must be a member at The Reading Cafe. If you are not a member, please register using the log-in at the top of the page or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using one of the social log-ins like Twitter or Facebook, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Giveaway runs from October 2-10, 2012

4. Giveaway open to continental USA and Canada only.

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